"From gully to Delhi": Bandi Sanjay's mother as he joins new NDA govt

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 9 (ANI): As former Bharatiya Janata Party Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was sworn in as Union Minister in the new Narendra Modi government, his mother Bandi Shakunthala expressed happiness saying that his son has gone from the streets (gully) to Delhi.
"I am proud that my son has gone from gully (streets) to Delhi. My happiness cannot be described in words. I have talked to him (son) over call. My family and I thank PM Narendra Modi," Bandi Shakunthala said speaking to reporters on Sunday.
Attributing Kumar's success to the people of Karimnagar for voting him to power, Shakunthala said, "I am very happy and proud. I never thought that my son would reach so much height. It was only possible by the love of people from Karimnagar. This is not Sanjay's victory. This is people's victory."
Thanking the Prime Minister, she said, "Narendra Modi has guided my son like a guru. I thank Narendra Modi. I also wish to meet Modi once."
Speaking about Kumar's family, Shakunthala said that it was difficult for them to make both ends meet.
"Even since childhood, Sanjay struggled a lot. RSS was like a close relation to us. We are a very small family. His father only had a salary of Rs 100 and 10 members used to live with that. We have struggled a lot," she said.
Sharing an incident during the time of the Babri Masjid demolition, Shakunthala said that Sanjay used to hide in brother's hostel.
"During the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, Sanjay was there. There were always police officers in our house at that time. They used to search the entire house. We used to hide Sanjay in my brother's hostel nearby and sent him food from here. Despite the police search, Sanjay escaped. However, some others who were with him were arrested," she said.
Celebrations broke out at BJP MP-elect Bandi Sanjay Kumar's residence in Karimnagar as Kumar attended the tea meeting at PM-designate Narendra Modi's residence on Sunday.
BJP's Bandi Sanjay Kumar won from Telangana's Karimnagar defeating Congress' Velchala Rajender Rao with a margin of 225209 seats.
The firebrand BJP leader from Telangana was elected as an MP from Karimnagar in 2019 as well defeating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) candidate Boianapalli Vinod Kumar.
Kumar is widely credited for expanding the footprint of the BJP in Telangana during his tenure as the state party chief. (ANI)